As part of their Silver John Muir Award, Monty, Edie, Owen, Bella, Elliot, Jeh, Dominic and Alex spent a warm weekend at Low Way Farm, Middleton in Teesdale.
Here's what Year 10 Alex wrote about the trip:
"Dr. Sharp organised the event in conjunction with Kennedy and Kerry Anne from North Pennines Natural Landscape.
It was the second time we had stayed here, although this time sleeping arrangements had been upgraded from tents to the indoor dorms. The site itself is amazing – located in a valley in a dark skies area of Upper Teesdale, our base was nestled in amongst fields of sheep, a serene river and dramatic crags rising in the distance. It is a place where you can really stop and think and feel involved in the world around you - the striking calls from the curlews and oyster catchers, the rabbits scuttling by and the soft bleating of the sheep - a welcome retreat from the usual fast paced demands of school life.
On the Friday night, we enjoyed each other’s company and settled into an evening of board games, however the quiet solemnity of our location did not stop fun conversation, laughter, and the group becoming competitive over a game of Uno Extreme. The following morning, after packing up lunches, we took a minibus ride to Goldsborough Carr’s volcanic cap, which was the location for abseiling and rock climbing. After a short walk, where we admired the views of the valley around us, we arrived at the rock face where the group would face challenges and conquer fears. Full of confidence, Monty and Edie, abseiled down the rock face in a matter of seconds while Bella’s blood curdling screams could be heard echoing acoustically through the valley as she descended the drop. Once down, the group then faced the next challenge of learning to climb back up some of the rock face. With feet back on terra firma, the group returned to the quiet solace of Low Way Farm, for an afternoon and evening of charades, rock skimming and river sampling.
The final day was spent enjoying the countryside and going on an Orienteering and Geocaching Walk finding clues to fossils, winter twigs, lichens and other features, before being pulled back into the hustle and bustle of life.
On behalf of our group, I’d like to thank Dr Sharp, Kennedy and Kerry Anne for organising another enjoyable and successful residential."